Trident Studios was a Britishrecording facility, located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, a drummer of former 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. The current residing business, Trident Sound Studios Ltd, which opened in 1993, although not related, was named in recognition of the original Trident Studios

The Sheffield brothers had a relaxed working attitude, but also emphasised high standards of audio engineering.[1][page needed] The studio's state-of-the-art recording equipment helped attract many major artists to record there.

The history of the Sheffield brothers and Trident Studios is also linked to the early discovery and success of the band Queen. In 1972, Trident Studios started two record production companies, one of which (Neptune Productions) initially signed three artists, Mark Ashton, Eugene Wallace and Queen. The agreements with the artists were for recording and publishing, but Queen had no management, so they insisted that Trident also take on that responsibility. Trident initially reluctant, eventually agreed and Queen signed an agreement with Trident Recording, Publishing and Management, on 1 November 1972.

The Management at the time claimed the deal allowed the band full access to the studio's cutting edge facilities, and supported them by providing the best producers and engineers - so long as the foundations of the band's first album Queen were recorded 'off peak'.[1][page needed]

After the album was completed the Sheffield brothers had great difficulty finding a record company to take on the album and release it.[1][page needed] Finally, eight months later, the brothers decided to take on the risk and fund the release themselves and Queen released their self-titled first album under the Trident label in a license deal with EMI in the UK and Elektra in the US. Trident subsequently released Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera under this same arrangement. After the band left Trident, they signed directly to EMI and Elektra.

Trident Studios interior circa 1975 from the Studio and the famous Bechstein Piano

The Trident A Range consoles were originally built by and for Trident Studios. Other studios placed their orders and Trident Audio Developments was formed. Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles was one of the early recipients of one of the first production models, and ultimately purchased three new from Trident and one from a broker at a later time.[1][page needed]David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Frank Sinatra are among the early artists who first recorded hit records on Cherokee’s first 'A' Range console.

"Though it had a very limited run, the Trident A Range console gained a reputation for its very distinct and pleasant sound with a very "musical" EQ section. Along with channel strips from early Neve and Helios consoles, original Trident A Range modules have kept a healthy resale value and are much sought after by engineers who like to combine old-school analogue gear with cutting-edge digital recording technology."[2]

Trident Studios was sold in December 1981. It was bought by its senior engineer, Stephen Short, along with three other investors. In 1986, Short bought out the other investors and opened Trident 2 which was opened in 1983 and the investors were J.P.Illiesco and Rusty Egan. There were also another group of producers and investors who tried to buy Trident in the 80's after its initial closure headed by Neville Kernick-Nixon, Flood and John Keating, the former then opened The Mad House later known as The Music Station.[3]

Norman Sheffield's son, Russell Sheffield has continued to be active in the music industry and Artist Management and with guitarist and songwriter, James Eaton from The Argonauts, established Trident Cloud named in recognition of the studio, to provide a collaborative mobile app platform for musicians to find and work together around the world. This has been developed into Trident Cloud's first iOS App product 'Trackd' which launched globally on 13 August 2015.

In July 2013, Norman Sheffield launched his autobiography, titled Life on Two Legs, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Trident Studios. The book has a foreword by Paul McCartney of The Beatles and according to the press release, it lifts the lid on Trident while setting the record straight on years of rumours and hearsay regarding Trident and the founding management of Queen, stating: "With original unseen photography and Queen contracts – this book shines a light on a time that could never exist in today's society, a place in rock and roll history that - in Freddie's own words - was guaranteed to blow your mind".[citation needed]